Brussels, 23 May 2012 – Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle will visit Iceland on Thursday and Friday to discuss efforts for the forthcoming period in the accession negotiations. Less than a year since the start of substantive membership negotiations there is steady progress with 15 chapters opened, 10 already provisionally closed and next chapters being prepared to be tackled. "Negotiations with Iceland are progressing well. We expect to open further negotiating chapters at the next Intergovernmental Conference on 22 June. Achievements so far bode well for the more sensitive issues ahead, and I hope to see progress in more policy areas by the end of the year," Commissioner Füle said in Strasbourg before leaving for Reykjavik.

During his visit he will discuss the latest steps in the accession process with the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, the Speaker of the Parliament and members of the parliamentary Committee for Foreign Affairs, Mayors of the country's major municipalities as well as representatives of the Consultative Group on Iceland's Accession to the EU and representatives of the opposition.

"I am coming for my second visit to Iceland to convey a message that we remain engaged in a unique process of placing Iceland´s future into the context of a united and ever growing Europe. We are committed to work with our partners in Iceland and now want to focus on those areas which are crucial for the negotiations to progress. With the constructive spirit on both sides, we can maintain the pace of negotiations and achieve a successful outcome," Commissioner Fule stated ahead of his arrival to Iceland.